Improvement in ladiesj riding-saddles



i UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.,

ROBERT SPENCER, 0F NEWT YORK, N. Y.

aMPRovEwu-:NT iN LADlEs RlDlNe-SADDLES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 16,556, dated February 3,1857.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT SPENCER, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in LadiesRiding-Saddles and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- AFigure l is a plan view of the saddle-tree; Fig. 2, a side elevation;Fig. 3, a cross vertical section taken at the line A a of Fig. l 5 andFigs. 4 and 5 represent a plan and crosssection -of a modification of mysaid improvements.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the gures.

As ladies saddles have heretofore been constructed they are in manyrespects unsafe and uncomfortable to the rider and injurious to thehorse; and the object of my said invention is to avoid the defectsheretofore experienced; and the iirst part of my invention relates to achange in the form and position of the pommel or head, whereby theposition of the rider is rendered more easy and safe, while at the sametime the horses Withers are left free and clear of all tendency tochafe; and the second part of my said invention relates to a inode ofadjusting the position of the main or short horn relatively to the seatand pommel, whereby it can be adapted to persons of diiferent sizes 5and the third part of my said invention relates to the manner ofarranging the stirrup-leather, whereby the weight of the rider isbalanced on the horse, and thereby rendered more safe than heretofore,in combination with what are known as Mexican bars, whereby I am enabledto dispense with the points heretofore employed to embrace the sides ofthe horse, and to substitute in lieu thereof in a ladys saddle thewell-known Mexican bars, which merely embrace the horses Withers, andwhich have no tendency to chafe or to impede the free action of thehorse.

In the accompanying drawings, a a represent the two bars of the tree,which are formed with the front part b in the manner of the well-knownMexican saddle, each properly iitted to the hollow of the horse on eachside of the Withers, and the pommel c, which unites the two bars infront, instead of being placed directly across and at the extremeforward end of the bars, as heretofore, and which requires it to be verymuch elevated to clear the horses Withers, is thrown back and in adiagonal position,whereby it can be considerably depressed withoutdanger of injuring the horse. The upper surface of this pommel eX-ten'ds over to the right or off side of the saddle by a gentle upwardslope to a sufficient dis- 'tance vto give the required extent ofbearing surface for the outside of the thigh, which rests in the head orhorn, and the right or off side may be of the form represented in Figs.l, 2, and 3, or extended to form an outer resting-horn, as at s, Figs. 4and 5, or of any other form to suit the fancy of the constructor. Bythis means the thigh is brought down very nearly to the level of theseat, so that the rider will sit with much more ease and comfort andhave a better control than when the thigh is elevated, as it must be onsaddles constructed as heretofore.

The short or main horn d may be attached in the usual manner andpermanently to and project from the head or bar on the left or near sideof the pommel, as represented in Figs. 4 and 5, or, what I prefer, itmay be attached as represented in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, by a screw in theend tapped into a metal plate e, provided with three (more or less)holes, into either of which it can be inserted, so that it can beshifted at pleasure from one position to another, higher or lower,forward or back, to suit the length and diameter of thigh of the rider,as the ease and comfort of the rider greatly depend upon a propervposition of the horn relatively to the pommel and rear part of theseat,which should always be adjusted to Y the size and form of therider.

If desired, a leaping-horny" may be attached either to the riding-hornor to the bar of the tree, this making no part of my invention.

As the weight of the rider prepouderates on the left or near side byreason of the two legs being` on that side and the left foot in thestirrup, the saddle, as heretofore constructed, always has a tendency toturn or drag down on the left or near side of the horse, and the onlyway in which this tendency has been heretofore resisted is by the use oftwo points at the forward part of the saddle, one on each side, andembracing the horse just back of the shoulders. This is known to beinjurious to the horse, as he is bound Where he is required to be freewhen in proper action, and as that part of his body necessarily has muchmotion, there is a constant chafing of the skin, which is necessarilyinjurious, and a still more serious objection to the 'old constructionis that the rider depends entirely on the strength of the girth forsafety, because if the girth breaks the preponderance of the Weight ofthe rider on the left or stirrup side Will necessarily make the saddleslide off on that side. To avoid these objections, I attach thestirrupleather g by a staple 7L, or other suitable means, to aprojection i on the right or off side of the pommel, and after passingunder the horse it is brought up on the left or near side and through asuitable loop or openingj in the double stirrup-bar plate e, and thencedown, so that when the foot of the rider is in the stirrup 7,: theWeight will act on both sides of the saddle, and by increasing; thelength of the projection fz', to which the stirrupleather is attached,the leverage on the right or oft side can be made so much greater thanthat on the left side as to balance the Weight of the rider, and therebyavoid all the defects above pointed out, and by this means I am enabledto dispense with the points heretofore employed to embrace the sides ofthe horse, and to substitute what is known as the Mexican bars, whichfit into the cavities each side of the Withers Without chating thehorse.

Having thus described my said invention and the various modes in which Ihave contemplated the application thereof, I wish it to be distinct-lyunderstood thatI do notl li mit my claim of invention to such specialmodes of application, as other equivalent modes may be substituted.

lVhatIclaim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. Placing the pommel or head back of the front edge of the bars and ina diagonal position, substantially as described, whereby I am enabled todepress it to give ease of position to the rider without interferingWith the horses Withers, as described.

2. Connecting the near or short horn with the tree by a screw on the endfitted to a series of holes, so that its position relatively to the seatand pommel may be shifted at pleas- Witnesses:

WM. Il. BIsHoP, PIoni B. WILSON.

ure to suit the rider, substantiallyas described,

